Agricultural harvesters are designed to travel through agricultural fields harvesting crops. They include a self-propelled combine vehicle connected to an agricultural harvesting head (also called a “header”) mounted on the front of the combine.
The head is elongate and extends perpendicular to the direction of travel of the combine. The function of the agricultural harvesting head is to sever the crop plants from the ground, to carry the cut crop material laterally inward to a central portion of the header, and then to convey the cut crop material rearward through a hole in a central rear wall of the header. Once the cut crop material is passed through the hole, it is received in the combine for further processing.
The agricultural harvesting head uses two side conveyors (typically auger conveyors or an endless belt conveyors) to draw the material laterally inward from both sides of the harvesting head to a central region of the head. A second conveyor then receives the cut crop material and conveys it rearward through the hole in the head.
In one common arrangement (often called a “draper”), the conveyors are endless belt conveyors. Each of these conveyors comprise an endless belt that is supported at opposing ends for recirculation about a drive roller and an idler roller. The drive roller is mounted close to the center of the header. The idler roller is located near an outermost lateral and of the header.
In recent years, draper headers have been increasing in width such that they can harvest a wider swath of crop material. Further, the combines on which they are mounted operate at greater ground speeds. As a result, the power required to drive the side conveyors has increased. At the same time, the headers are constructed heavier, requiring larger components, and those components require more space in the central region of the header. Thus there is less space adjacent to the drive rollers on either side of the hole to accommodate the larger motors and gearboxes that drive the drive rollers.
MacDon, a Canadian manufacturer of draper headers, produces a draper header with a motor coupled directly to the drive roller of the side draper in the traditional fashion.
Honeybee, another Canadian manufacturer of draper headers, produces a draper header in which the drive roller of the side draper is driven by a belt, and the drive motor for the belt is offset away from the drive roller and the hole in the header itself.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,932,717 shows an endless draper belt with a chain drive coupling the draper belt to the draper belt drive motor.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,510,245 shows an endless draper belt with a chain drive coupling the draper belt to the draper belt drive motor.
In each of the last three arrangements, the drive belt or drive chain is disposed behind (to the rear of) the draper belt itself, thus requiring additional space to house the additional drive belt/chain. This additional fore-and-aft space requires larger header frame members and thus additional weight to the header itself.
What is needed is an agricultural harvesting head of the draper type having a compact side draper drive arrangement.
It is an object of this invention to provide such an arrangement.